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“And as Jesus passed by, he saw a man which was blind from his birth. And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind? Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him.” (John 9:1-3)

Has anyone in your family ever gotten blind as he or she grew older? It is just natural that some older people will lose their eyesight over time. Are you afraid that might happen to you? Well, being blind is not easy, but it is what God has in store for some of us. Some people are even born blind – like the man whom Jesus healed in John 9.

This man had never seen anything! Since the day he was born, he was blind. Now, think about the doctors and nurses at a normal hospital in your town today. If a baby is born with a limitation – a handicap or a birth defect or even an eating problem – do the doctors and nurses decide that must be a morally “bad” baby? Do they assume that his parents must have messed something up really bad? Do they think a newborn blind baby is the one to blame for his own blindness? Would they write a mean note on his birth certificate and label that baby “no good”? Of course not!

What would they do? They would try to help the baby and treat the baby kindly. The last thing that they would think of would be to say it was the baby’s own fault that he had been born with something wrong. Yet that was the mentality of the people in Jesus’ time. They really wondered if this man had been born blind because of some sin he or his parents might have committed (or might commit in the future).

It is true that sometimes God uses physical problems to chastise (discipline, punish) His children so that they will repent of their sins and walk closer to Him. But it is not for humans to judge whether that is what is going on when one of our friends gets sick, or when we hear about someone who has physical problems.

In the case of this blind man, Jesus answered His disciples’ question by saying that no, this man had not sinned, nor had his parents. Maybe that is the case for some people, but not for him. Jesus said that the real reason this man had been born blind was so that God would be able to glorify Himself through his blindness. When Jesus healed this man, it showed something of Who Jesus is and what He is capable of doing (able to do).

It may even be possible that God could have many reasons for putting us through difficult trials. For example, maybe you have an illness that has held you back so far behind in schoolwork that you are going to have to start the same stuff all over again next year. It could be difficult to think of having to re-do everything you have already started during this school year. Emotionally, that would be hard news to take, especially if you are still feeling physically ill.

It might be true: God might be trying to send you a “wake-up call” about some sin that has been becoming a bad habit for you. Maybe He is trying to slow you down enough to think about your life and how your relationship is with Him. OR it could be that God wants to teach you how to encourage other people in similar situations. OR perhaps He wants you to make some wonderful new friends in a different grade at school next year. OR He may just want to use your life as a walking testimony (truthful personal story) of Who He is and what He is able to do for His people.

Maybe there are other possible reasons why you are facing a really difficult trial like that, or maybe you have been given your problem(s) for ALL of the above reasons! God may be working in your life through a trial just so that He can show His power and His love in a public way. He wants people to know about how great He is. He wants people to know how good He is. Only God knows perfectly what He is perfectly working in each of our lives. He is perfectly fair, but He is not perfectly predictable. We cannot guess what He is thinking or why He is doing something. But we can always trust His wisdom and His actions.

Sometimes God tests us to show His own greatness and goodness.

My Response:
» Do I find myself trying to “guess” why God might be doing something in someone’s life?
» How can I remind myself that God wants to show His greatness and goodness in my life?
» How can I encourage others with the good news of Who God is and what He is able to do?

“And now, Lord, what wait I for? my hope is in thee.” (Psalm 39:7)

Cole and Gavin have been especially excited for this Christmas morning to arrive! Of course, they are excited every Christmas, but this time, it is extra special. For Christmas this year, Cole and Gavin are going to get a new baby sister!

For about a year now, the boys and their parents have been praying for this little girl to come be a part of their family. For months and months, they did not even know who she was going to be, but they knew they wanted her. Then, sometime during the summer, they got a phone call from the adoption agency! Cole and Gavin were jumping up and down when they heard the news that they were going to get a new little sister. Not only that, but the details worked out in such a way that Cole and Gavin are waiting at home on Christmas Day (with their grandparents) to meet her! Their parents are going to bring her home to them on Christmas Day!

Can you imagine how much anticipation (hopeful excitement) Gavin and Cole must have been feeling by the time Christmas Eve came? In his ceramic monkey bank, Cole had been saving every “silver coin” he found (every nickel, dime, or quarter) just so that he could buy his new little sister a Christmas present. Gavin had given up his whole bedroom! Dad had converted Gavin’s bedroom into a nursery for the baby. And now – finally – they are about to receive their Christmas wish!

How do you think Cole and Gavin might feel if their parents were not able to bring home their new little sister on Christmas morning, after all? Do you think that they would be a little disappointed, or maybe even upset? Or – what if their parents came home, not with a little girl, but with a little boy instead? What a shock that would be! After a while, Cole and Gavin would probably be able to get used to the idea of having a little brother instead; but it might take a few weeks! They have really been looking forward to this new little sister for a long time!

Do you know what it is like to hope and hope and wish and wait for something, only to be disappointed when it did not happen the way you thought it might? Or maybe you have hoped and hoped and wished and waited for something, and it turned out even better than you had imagined! It is not wrong to hope for earthly things, but the Bible teaches that the Person in Whom we should have the most hope is God Himself! But what does it mean to have our hope in God?

Jesus’ mother Mary had about nine months to wait for this amazing Son of God to be born. The Bible says that she kept in her heart those things that the angel promised to her, and she pondered them (thought long and hard – and often! – about them). Jesus was born at a very stressful time for Mary and Joseph (the man who would become Jesus’ adoptive, earthly father). Because they were engaged to be married, they had to go together to Joseph’s hometown (Bethlehem) to take care of some legal matters, and that all happened at the same time that Jesus was about to be born.

Humanly speaking, it seemed like very bad timing for a special birth like Jesus’. Joseph and Mary had been told by God’s messengers that Jesus was the Son of God and that He was coming to Earth in human form so that He could be the Savior! But because of everything going on in Bethlehem, all the inns were full. Because of everything going on in Israel at that time, the rulers of Israel (Romans) were not in the mood to welcome a new “king.” Jesus’ birth, though, was perfectly timed to fulfill all the prophecies that had been made about His coming.

The Israelites had been promised a Savior like Jesus. Psalm 130:7 says, “Let Israel hope in the LORD: for with the LORD there is mercy, and with him is plenteous redemption.” Jesus was coming to redeem His people. For hundreds of years, they had this hope that God would send a Messiah, a Redeemer, to save them from their sins and bring them peace. They could not hope in riches or armies for spiritual salvation, but they could hope in the LORD!

This Christmas, you might have a lot of things on your wish list for presents or just wishes about life – and, as is the case with Cole and Gavin and their adopted little sister, it is ok to hope for some things. But what about your hope for salvation and peace with God? Are you hoping in God Himself?

God Himself is the main Source of our hope.

My Response:
» Am I hoping for earthly things INSTEAD of God?
» How can I help others hope in God Himself?

“And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.” (Luke 2:10-14)

In France, there is a traditional Christmas dessert known as La Bûche de Noël (“la byOOsh duh noEL” – a Christmas log). Have you ever seen a bûche de Noël? Also known as “a yule log,” the bûche is not really a log at all. It is a chocolate sponge cake with cream filling (or a chocolate ice cream cake) that is made to look like a log ready to be put into a fireplace.

Like many traditions, it is hard to be sure exactly how the tradition of the bûche de Noël began in the first place. But one story goes like this:

Back in the early 1800s, Napoleon I was ruling France. Doctors back then had not learned yet about some things that doctors know now, in the 21st century. Napoleon was told that cold air can cause illness. So he made a law, saying it was for the good of the people, and he made everyone in the city of Paris obey it.

What was this “good” law? Because cold air might come down into their houses through the chimneys, Napoleon declared that nobody could use their fireplaces during winter. Everybody had to seal off their chimneys so no cold air could get in. The problem was that no smoke could get out, either. The people were not able to use their fireplaces to keep their homes warm. This story is a little silly, if it is really true. The people had to endure cold air, anyway, both outside and inside their homes!

Not only did the Parisian homes have to go without heat, but many of the Christmas traditions back then involved family and friends sitting around the fireplace. They would tell stories and play games in front of the fire. To help spread Christmas cheer, the Parisian bakers created a fake substitute for a fireplace – a cake decorated to look like a log for the fireplace. So the families in Paris would buy a bûche de Noël and set it on the table. Instead of spending time around the fire together at Christmas, they spent time around the bûche de Noël (in their freezing cold houses!).

Napoleon was not a perfect ruler. He made mistakes, and there were some things he could not have known. Aren’t you glad that God knows everything and never makes mistakes? When God reveals good news to us, we can always trust that it really is for our good. When God sent a great angel to announce the birth of Jesus Christ, the Messiah, the angel told the shepherds exactly where the Baby could be found, and exactly how they would find Him – wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger. Not only that, but the angel made it very clear that this baby Jesus Christ was born to be the Savior! The Bible records how a whole crowd of angels joined this one, singing “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.”

Now, that is good news! And because it was God Who sent these angelic messengers, and because it was God Who included their message in His Word for us to read today, we can be sure that this good news truly is good news. The angel’s announcement of “good will toward men” was nothing like the “good” law that Napoleon announced to his kingdom (a law which really wasn’t very “good,” after all). God’s news is reliable (trustworthy). God always speaks truth. He never makes mistakes about His own glory and our own good. Unlike a decree from some human king, the word of the God of the universe is trustworthy. The shepherds went and found Jesus exactly as they had been promised. We too can find Jesus Christ to be exactly Who God said He is: the Savior!

We can trust that God’s Word is really true and really for our good.

My Response:
» Have I been doubting God’s Word about something?
» Is there a promise that God has given that I have forgotten and need to remember?
» How can I show that I believe God’s Gospel (good news) about Jesus Christ?

“The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.” (Luke 1:35b)

One of the most incredible facts about Christmastime is that it is the celebration a miraculous birth, a birth that never could have happened if it had not been for a divine miracle (a miracle of God). There was no human way possible for Mary, a God-fearing woman (but still a sinner), to have been able to give birth to God Himself in human form. Jesus was 100% man, but He was also 100% God. Not only is it impossible for a normal birth to happen without an earthly father, but even the earthly mother of Jesus was a human being. Jesus’ birth was not going to be “normal,” because even though He was coming in authentic human form, He is also God (the Creator of humans). He always has been and always will be God. For a sinful human being to give birth to God would have to have been a miracle!

We are human beings, and all of our mothers were sinners, too, like Mary was. Some of us have been given God-fearing homes, and some of us have parents who do not even know Who Jesus Christ was. As human beings, we are limited by our sinfulness and by our human limitations. We cannot explain the virgin birth of Jesus Christ, and we cannot even understand it. But we can trust in it as a true fact – however incredible it is – because God’s Word teaches it clearly, and God’s Word is our most reliable Source of truth.

Think about your mother, and think about yourself. She is not perfect, and neither are you. You are probably reminded every day that you are not perfect. What a miracle it was for God to send Himself, in all His divine perfections, down to Earth to seek and to save sinful human beings.

This Christmas season, celebrate the incredible yet trustworthy truth: God accomplished that miracle of the virgin birth. He did it for His own glory and for our best good.

Jesus Christ had a miraculous birth, and God deserves all the glory for it.

My Response:
» Is the doctrine of the miraculous birth of Christ difficult for me to understand?
» Do I believe the Bible is God’s Word to me, even when it teaches difficult truths?
» Am I praising God for all the good and great things He did in sending His Son to be the Savior?